1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to Internet Protocol networks and more particularly to media distribution over an Internet Protocol network.
2. Background Art
Video distribution throughout a facility is often accomplished through an audiovisual distribution network. Audiovisual distribution networks are increasingly common installations in commercial and residential facilities. Components of an audiovisual distribution network are typically distributed throughout a facility and networked to allow video to be distributed from one or more AV sources 11 to one or more video sinks 15. For example, a corporate audiovisual distribution network may comprise multiple AV sources 11 such as media servers, personal computer devices, disc players such as digital video disc (DVD) player and Blu-ray disc® players and cable boxes distributed throughout a corporate campus.
Internet Protocol (IP) is a communication protocol that may be employed to transmit video throughout the audiovisual distribution network. An IP protocol audiovisual distribution network may be implemented as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN) or various combinations of the two.
In a LAN, a group of devices are connected together in a localized area to communicate with one another and share resources. Ethernet, the most widely employed LAN technology, is specified in Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 standard. Other LAN networking technologies may include, for example, Token Ring and FDDI.
A WAN is a network that covers a broad area using private or public network transports. For example, any telecommunications network that links across metropolitan, regional or national boundaries is a WAN. It is common for the physical layer of these kinds of networks to be implemented with category (CAT) cable, coaxial cable, optical fiber or wireless transmission media.
Traditionally, to network several devices in a LAN, network equipment such as a network switch is required. A network switch is a computer networking device that links network segments or network devices by forwarding data from one device to another. Network switches have limited capacity and therefore the networks have limited bandwidth. Bandwidth limits may limit the amount or type of video distributed on an IP network.
Additionally, there may be applications where it is desirable to provide content or digital copy protection, such as High Bandwidth Digital Content Protection (HDCP), when transmitting over IP networks.
Accordingly, there is a need for an audiovisual distribution network which efficiently utilizes IP communication protocol and incorporates digital content protection.